Coffee is a beverage brewed from ground roasted coffee beans. It is dark, bitter, and slightly acidic.
Caffeine present in coffee acts as a stimulant and the reason why we all love to drink it. It is served usually hot but also iced.
It is served in a variety of ways. Espresso, French Press, Cafe Latte, or already brewed canned coffee. Sugar, Sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitterness and enhance its flavor.
Until the 17th century coffee was imported from Yemen. And when its popularity rose, cultivation began in Java in the 17th century and Americas in the 18th. It is also thought to have originated from the kaffa region of Ethiopia.
Two most grown coffee bean varieties are C. arabica, and C.robusta. Coffee plants are cultivated in 70+ countries, primarily in the equatorial regions of America, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa.
Coffee entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch koffie borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish kahve borrowed in turn from the Arabic qahwah.
The first coffee house opened in Tahtakale, Istanbul. Since Tahtakale lies to the west of the Bosporus, it is considered as the first coffee house in Europe.
The first European coffee house to open outside of the Ottoman Empire opened in Venice in 1647.
Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House, in Oxford England which opened in 1654 is still open today.